I'm in the same boat, it does suck for redbird fans though. They can't control their players behaviors so I feel for them.

I really wonder if they would have gotten in had they kept the WSU game under 10 points. Combine that game with the fact that ultimately didn't look at large worthy after McIntosh went down with really tight games against us, MSU and SIU...tough pill to swallow for the league.

It's all about MONEY and the incestuous relationships among the power conferences and the NCAA. They pack the tournament field with multiple picks from a few leagues and deny spots to teams with 26 or 27 season victories. They then offer the reason that these teams do not have enough strong opponents on their schedules. However, the "top 50" teams will not play the likes of ISU or Loyola. Even Northwestern, not a "top 50" team but part Big 10-14, have refused to play us for decades. I think Chuckie Schumer should demand an independent counsel investigation.

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Let's go Braden!

Except Jim Boeheim and Syracuse are the prime offenders here. I'm just glad they didn't get in.

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That does not make the establishment bureaucracy any less guilty. We must drain the swamp.

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Let's go Braden!

I do feel bad for ISU because they lacked quality wins, they supposedly couldn't get a shot at. If they really tried 25 different teams in the tournament, including VCU and Dayton, like Muller said they did and no one accepted, it shows what's wrong with how the committee looks at things. Instead of number of quality wins, I'd rather see quality wins per attempt.

Against top 50 RPI:
ISU 1-2 (33%)
Wake Forest 3-10 (23%)
Providence 6-8 (43%)
Kansas St. 4-9 (31%)
USC 2-6 (25%)

While all of the last 4 in had more wins, with the exception of Providence, they all just got more because they had more attempts. Big conference schools convert their attempts at a lower rate, but the committee doesn't care about that, only if they win a certain number.

I am not a big fan of this years ISUr squad and in general not a fan of their coach. ...however if they tried to schedule 25 teams that were in the tnmnt and got turned down??.....then they should publicize the schools that turned them down. If the NCAA was really concerned with fairness instead of bottom line money they would do something to encourage better scheduling or at least penalize teams in the selection process.
On the flip side it has to be difficult to schedule as you really do not know how strong a team will be the net year. It also explains why LU may have a difficult time ramping up their scheduling.....as a loss to LU would be considered a bad loss. The conference vs conference challenges seem to be a decent way of getting some good games.

Problem is, then those schools REALLY won't want to play you. It's a catch 22.

Probably the smartest thing that a coach could do is take a look at the top 50 programs and look at their rosters. Call up the other coach and say, "I notice that Joe Smith is going to be a senior. He's from Chicago (or Bloomington or where ever) Why don't we come up with some agreement so he can play in front of his family."

They're still going to turn you down 98 times out of 100, but you'll be more successful than putting their names on blast for turning you down outright. Team also can't be afraid to do 3 for 1's like we did with Purdue a few years back.

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Cigarboy sucks!

I would take a couple of 3 for 1's with potential top 50 teams. At least we get paid something on the 3's, a boost in our RPI, and the possibility that we win one here or there. It would also give the team good experience against highly ranked opponents and may help in recruiting.

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Let's go Braden!

The A-10 has a lot of teams that will play road games and they have a pretty good league as far as RPIs go. Between St. Louis, St. Bonaventure, St. Joes, Duquesne, LaSalle, Fordham, and Dayton you have three fellow Jesuit schools, four former conference foes, and the prior schools of both the AD and the Head Coach. Dayton loves to play in Chicago, because they do a lot of recruiting here. Many of the schools in that league have similar buildings and slightly higher budgets.

I would also look into opportunities with the Pac 12 and West Coast conferences-- Oregon State and Colorado have been willing to travel. There are four Jesuit Schools in the WCC, plus St. Mary's & San Francisco (we had a home and home with them a several years ago).

Didn't Dayton make a run to the sweet 16 a couple years ago? We had them penciled in for a home and home, then they backed out after their tournament run.

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